On Monday, French stocks declined due to concerns over the country's economic outlook and the looming threat of a trade war, following President-elect Donald Trump's aggressive statements about imposing broad tariffs on imports.
Investors remain wary of how the French government plans to address the increasing budget deficit. In a newspaper interview, the new finance minister revealed that the delayed 2025 budget bill aims to set the deficit slightly above 5 percent to safeguard economic growth.
Eric Lombard, speaking to La Tribune Dimanche, emphasized the importance of reducing the deficit primarily through cuts in public spending rather than tax hikes, suggesting that any tax increases should remain "very limited".
The benchmark CAC 40 index fell 22 points, or 0.3 percent, settling at 7,334 following a 1 percent gain on Friday. LVMH, Hermes International, and Kering, companies with substantial China-related interests, each saw a drop of around half a percent as investors awaited the release of Chinese manufacturing PMI data on Tuesday.
